Wild Horses Sometimes Breed
by FaerieKnight197
Summary: My third tale in the Wild Horses series. Ranma Masaki, the Knight Mare, has left earth seeking a period of peace and quiet. But when has our hero's family ever had peace? A new generation leads to new adventures. Rated M due to the occasional dark theme.
1. Opening Credits

_Drums start to play softy in the background. Soon a few guitar notes join in. Soon a male voice starts singing:_

"_I am so high. I can hear heaven." _

A Japanese man who is maybe in his thirties dances on a cliff. Upon closer inspection his dance proves to actually be a highly graceful martial arts kata for an unknown style.

_"I am so high. I can hear heaven.  
Oh but heaven, no heaven don't hear me." _

The scene then shifts to a teenage girl with icy blue hair who's wearing poorly stitched pants and a cotton blouse as she tends a garden. A dark shadow covers the girl ominously.

"_And they say that a hero can save us.  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait. "_

A young man with hair as red as flame weaves through a horde of orcs. Weaving through axes and swords, he jumps into the air.

_"I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles.  
Watch as we all fly away. "_

As he spins in a flying roundhouse kick the man's features shift. When the foot connects the man has become a young woman with icy blue hair.

"_Someone told me love will ALL save us.  
But how can that be, look what love gave us."_

An elven woman is seen kneeling in a burned out building. Her hair is a bright red and she is wearing a pale blue dress. In her arms is a child who she is crying over.

_"A world full of killing, and blood-spilling  
That world never came. "_

Hundreds of space cruisers can be seen in the endless expanse of the void. The closest ones on the left have the Galaxy Police logo stenciled on the side. The two sides are firing, explosions filling the air as ships are destroyed.

"_And they say that a hero can save us.  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait. "_

The scene changes to show a middle aged man in U.S. military fatigues wielding a large two handed sword as he fights an ice giant. Both swing their weapons at the same time, ending in a contest of strength which appears to be dead even.

_"I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles.  
Watch as we all fly away."_

A red haired teenager wearing a hot pink hello kitty belly tee and matching mini skirt stands back to back with a man made of living ice. The ice person is wearing a white body suit. Between them is a child of maybe eight years of age who looks terrified. The two of them are surrounded by hundreds of orcs, bugbears, and giants. As one the two hopelessly outnumbered warriors offer a taunting 'come get some' gesture.

"_Now that the world isn't ending, its love that I'm sending to you.  
It isn't the love of a hero, and that's why I fear it wont do."_

A shadowy figure reaches out. His hand engulfs the planet Earth in it's grasp.

_And they say that a hero can save us.  
Im not gonna stand here and wait. _

The Japanese man, blue haired ice man, middle aged warrior, and blue haired teenage girl each flip into field of view from a different direction with weapons at the ready.

._  
"I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles.  
Watch as we all fly away."_

A brief shower of water strikes the group. In it's wake the Japanese man is the teenage girl clad in hot pink. The ice man has become the teenage girl previously seen tending a garden. The blue haired girl is replaced with the crimson haired man previously seen fighting orcs and entering a flying roundhouse. The only one who doesn't change gender and/or age is the warrior dressed in military fatigues..

"_And they're watching us  
(Watching Us)  
And they're watching us  
(Watching Us)  
As we all fly ...ooouuhh "_

_As the final refrain of the song plays the background changes to black with a white silhouette of the group pose. In bright blue lettering it says **Wild Horses Sometimes Breed** above the image._


	2. Chapter One

**DISCLAIMER: **I still don't own Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Oh! My Goddess, or any other property which might show up. What I do own is the Freedom Society and it's world setting. They originate from a long standing Heroes Unlimited campaign that spanned six decades of in-game continuity. A setting and characters which the other former gaming group members gave me permission to use as my own.

**Wild Horses Sometimes Breed**

_by Faerie Knight _

_Man I'm bored,_ I think to myself. Been up since five in the morning, mostly cause that's when my alarm went off. I really hate having to take medicine at specific times. My own damn fault though. I could have waited to take the first dose till later in the evening. But nooo, I was impatient. But yeah, I'm bored. Was playing Sonic Unleashed for a while, but after spending two hours trying to defeat a boss I quit for now. Tried writing, but no inspiration at the moment.

So I've just been sitting at the computer reading Ranma ½ fan fictions. Maybe doing that'll inspire me. Or at least make me less bored. It's not working though. When I look at the time, I notice it's almost ten at night. Mentally I shrug to myself. A saucer gets filled with milk and put on the counter. Some might think me nuts, but I leave an offering to the fair folk every so often. With that taken care of, it's off to bed. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to think of something to write.

_**XxXxX**_

Everyone agreed that they made a cute couple. Another thing that was agreed upon was that it was a very good idea to avoid the red haired Masaki girl. It was quite clear she was not in a good mood. And the reason she was pissed off? It might have been because the ship's doctor had informed Ranma Masaki her nausea was due to being pregnant. Since the joyous news had been given, Sam Bricklbuster had done her best to avoid her partner. And with good reason too.

It was Sam's fault after all. Attending a funeral for long time friends had been hard on them both. After the ceremony Ranma and Sam had gone bar crawling. They had drowned sorrow in more alcohol then should be legal to consume. The next thing clearly remembered was it being morning. The two had been in the same bed for reasons unknown. The lack of clothing had become rather evident too.

At the time Ranma hadn't really questioned her sore pelvis. Perhaps it was due to the splitting headache. Perhaps it was due to something else, no one could rightly say. That was two months ago. They had decided to leave the Earth. Both Sam and Ranma were spiritually tired. So they had boarded the red head's juraian ship and sought a place to retire, at least for a little while. The bulk of the ship's crew had been picked up during a brief visit to the empire's capital world.

That visit had been insisted upon by Ranma's great grandfather. She didn't know which side of the family though. None of the records for her family were that detailed. It was probably her mother's side though. Visiting Jurai again hadn't been quite as unpleasant as the first visit. The ten hour long wedding however was annoying as hell. Worst of all, she could sense her tree was hiding something important. What that something had been turned out to be the pregnancy.

_So here I am,_ Ranma mused. _Here I am, married to Sam and about to settle on a 'primitive' world light years from home. Never would have thought this would happen when I was younger. I'm sorry Akane, but you killed any chance we had together all those years ago. Telling you I'm leaving was the hardest thing I could do. At least we stayed friends._

_**XxXxX**_

"Weird dream," I mutter as I wake up.

A quick shower, and then getting dressed. Not much planned for today. Just more reading, writing, and maybe video games. Might watch the new episode of Dream Machines tonight. Or not, it doesn't matter. It's on On Demand too. After mentally reviewing what there is to eat, I sigh. Nothing sounds good. What I want is a hamburger or six. What's in the house is bread, frozen chicken patties, a case of raman, and six cans of mixing chicken.

Looking in my wallet, I find I have about six dollars. My coin purse shows two dollars in quarters, nickles, and dimes. Good enough for me. Just gotta decide where to go. Hmm, micky D's BK, or Arby's? Tough call. Now that I think about it, a roast beef sandwich also sounds delicious. While deciding I check the saucer left out the night before. Milk's gone, that isn't a surprise. Not evaporated either. That would have left a residue. Rinse off the saucer and put in the dish pan for later.

Open the door, and freeze. I'm suppose to be seeing a parking lot just outside the front door. What is there instead is a forest. Poking my head out and looking side to side brings more questions to mind. I can't see the apartment building, anywhere. What the frell? That settles things, not going out for burgers. What if that dream wasn't just a dream? Impossible, I know. But what if I really was talking to some mystery glowing woman?

She'd called me her knight or some such. Ugh, this is getting crazy. Hang on, the shower... Was that blood that washed off? I'd been half asleep at the time. But now that I think about it, the wafer for my colostomy bag does look like it's about to give out. So I go back into the bathroom and get ready to change it. Cut a larger hole in the center of the new wafer, and then peal off the old one. Huh? That's odd, shouldn't my stoma be there? Instead all I see is smooth skin with a bit of shit on it.

Door to an unfamiliar location, bizarre events happening around me, this sounds like one of the avatar rpg games I've joined in the past. And knowing my luck the door will vanish once I leave my apartment. So I clean up and cook a couple chicken patties. It's not what I want, but it's what's available. After breakfast is finished it's time to prepare for a little excursion. I really need more info, and I can't trust finding my apartment again.

_**XxXxX**_

There were days when Anna hated her parents. It was hard enough being raised outside of town. Friends were few and they rarely came over. As if that wasn't bad enough, there was the gender identity issues Anna had grown up with. For years she'd been unsure weather she was a boy or girl. For that matter, the question of "Who is your mother" was a difficult one to answer. In all honesty, Anna didn't know which parent was her mother.

To anyone else it's an easy question. But how do you ask two parents of flexible gender which one gave birth to you? So they were 'mom' or 'dad' depending on their current gender. A week ago Anna's 'mom', the one with red hair at least, had told her about when she was born. This was the first time a definitive gender could be assigned to herself. For all her life Anna had experienced an unusual sort of problem. Her gender fluctuated too for unknown reasons.

Unlike her parents, Anna didn't even have a little control. They could use water of various temperatures to trigger the change. But her? No, that would be too easy. It happened seemingly at random. And usually at an embarrassing moment too. The kids in the nearby village called Anna a freak. Some even accused her of being a witch. So yes, there were days she hated them. And today was one of them. Her red haired mother had awoken Anna before the sun was even up for hand to hand training.

After a barely edible meal prepared by her blue haired mother Anna was forced to spend a couple hours studying books which still didn't make any sense. Why they were both currently in their female forms was unknown. Afternoons were usually Anna's to spend as she wanted. But no, not today. Momma Sam had to have a practice session in the other combat style her parents insisted she learn. That was another thing Anna didn't really understand.

When a girl, her red haired mom insisted on using the name 'Ranko'. When male he went by the name of Ranma. Not that it really mattered. All Anna ever called them was 'mom' or 'dad'. They would be mad at her, of course. Instead of washing up for supper, the teenage girl had decided to leave home. She'd hidden a pack with a spare change of cloths near the cabin. A quick trip into town for some travel food, and then Anna would be off to see the world.

Two hours later a well toned young man walked into a nameless village. He was wearing simple tan breaches and a light blue shirt. His hair was an interesting mix of fiery red and a rich blue. The man had a pack slung across one shoulder. As the man neared the town's general store several people crossed the street to avoid him. Once inside he noticed an oddly dressed stranger was also in the store. The stranger was apparently haggling with Tobias, the store's owner.

_**XxXxX**_

_If I ever get back home, I have ta thank dad. _The person thinking this was a middle aged man. His skin was lightly tanned, although it was surprising due to him rarely going outside anymore. His dark brown hair was long and unkept. He was wearing a forest camo jumpsuit with an army green molly utility vest over top of that. A black leather belt was around his waist which had several daggers of various kinds attached by their sheathes. There was also a katana shoved through the belt to secure it.

The various pouches on his vest contained objects deemed useful to have on hand, including a first aid kit. At the man's feet was a molly field pack. This too had several pouches attached to it, which again contained useful things. The side of the pack had a pouch which held what looked to be a water container. A green fabric tube was secured on top of the pack.

His name? The stranger had not given one. The closest was that he'd claimed he'd been declared 'faerie's knight'. _Seems odd everyone speaks English,_ he thought. _Or do they?_ It wasn't his only question. Upon heading out on this most unexpected journey Faerie had put fourteen millennium food bars in one section of his pack. That was a month ago. He'd kept the wrappers and put them back in that section so as to not litter. And surprisingly every time he'd ran out, the next day the fourteen wrappers would be intact once more. Further they would contain another food bar.

While nutritious and filling, the food bars were not exactly satisfying. Oddly enough, after the first time it happened the wrappers said 'Elphame waybread' instead of 'millennium food bar'. Finding this village had been a stroke of luck. His black sneakers had not fared well. So here he was, bartering for some money and trying to determine currency values. That way later Faerie could find a cobbler and get a pair of hiking boots.

_Ten copper farthings to a silver crown huh? And ten silver crowns to a gold royal? Sounds like the typical fantasy setting money system. Probably something higher then a royal, but don't need to know about that yet._ He put the fifteen farthings he'd just acquired in one of his pouches. This pouch was attached to his belt, and was a forest green leather pouch. Next to this pouch he had a tin tankard hanging from it's belt hook. The man shouldered his pack once more before starting for the door.

"Yello," he called out to the store's newest customer. "Looks like you're traveling too. Mind some company?"

The young man who'd entered blinked a couple times. "I guess?"

"Cool, I'm kinda new to the area. An it's better ta have someone with ya when traveling." Faerie commented.

The other man bought seven days worth of trail bread and a handful of torches. Beyond that he decided nothing else was needed. After that the two of them started to walk. The village was left behind soon. A great big world was laid out ahead of them. Faerie was silent for the rest of the day. While in town he'd learned the name of the world he was on. _What the frell am I doing in the 'forgotten realms' setting? This is crazy!_

"So, got a name?" He asked his traveling companion.

"Sure, name's Anna Masaki," the teen answered.

"Anna? Isn't that a girl's name?" Before Faerie's eyes his companion's form seemed to melt into a new, smaller shape. "Oh, er... one of your parents wouldn't be a red haired woman who turns into a man with hot water would she?"

_**XxXxX**_

In his life Ranma Masaki had been many things. Wandering martial artist, teacher, hero, prince, wife, and mother. All these were terms that applied to him. Sixteen years ago Ranma had settled on this planet with his husband for some much needed rest. Raising their daughter had been a surprising addition to those plans. Then again, being the wife of Samuel Masaki (formerly Bricklbuster) hadn't exactly been part of the plan when they left earth either.

But then nothing in his life had ever gone according to plan. While fast approaching his seventy third birthday, Ranma Masaki still looked to be in his early thirties. His female form still appeared to be around sixteen years old. It had stopped feeling like a curse decades ago. And after giving birth to Anna, acceptance was rather mandatory. Landing on the planet of Abeir-Toril was suppose to be a sort of vacation. Live a normal human lifetime or so away from the chaos and stress the last forty years had consisted of.

Instead they had settled on a world populated by magic and monsters. One where the human race was constantly under assault by one dark force or another. This world had actual gods. Not like Bast and her kin. But real gods formed from the fabric of reality. Some were 'good', some weren't. And some seemed to be rather indifferent on the issue. The Masaki couple seemed to gravitate towards trouble. A fact which was made apparent when they built a cabin near a small village a few days travel from Shadowdale.

It was a nice place. Quiet, most of the time. There was a large population of 'adventurers' passing through at times. Plenty of work for mercenaries too every so often. And one of the residents was rather good company. The man was powerful as all get out. He made Saffron seem like a candle in comparison. And was older then most people Ranma had met. Looked his age too with that long flowing white beard.

"Hey Sam, gonna head out for a few days and visit the old coot. Since Anna decided to take off, was hoping he'd keep an eye on her."


	3. Chapter Two

**DISCLAIMER: **I still don't own Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Oh! My Goddess, or any other property which might show up. What I do own is the Freedom Society and it's world setting. They originate from a long standing Heroes Unlimited campaign that spanned six decades of in-game continuity. A setting and characters which the other former gaming group members gave me permission to use as my own.

**Wild Horses Sometimes Breed**

_by Faerie Knight _

_First, a few words to the reader. Yes, this story is a self insertion of sorts. My gaming group has ran a few avatar campaigns. For those who don't know, an avatar campaign is one where your character is you. One was a Heroes Unlimited campaign which is where I pulled the info for this self insertion variant. Another was a D&D 3rd edition game. Several events in this story come from that D&D game. Normally for D&D I use a personal campaign setting with it's own gods, history, heroes, and so forth. But for this story I am using the Forgotten Realms setting._

_And I warn my readers right here and now, seriously bad things do happen further in. While I wont go into extreme detail about those events when they happen, they can be disturbing. If you don't want to read them, please stop reading this story. I don't condone things like rape or torture. And the only time it appears in my stories is when the story demands it. Even then I do my best NOT to focus on such scenes._

_Without further delay, on with the story._

_**XxXxX**_

"How did I get dragged into this, again?" Faerie asked as a hand axe glanced off his vest.

His US military combat harness had changed much over the last two years. While the outward appearance was the same, it now was infused with great magics. The pouches had been enchanted to safely hold more then the physical volume would allow. The harness it's self now also contained an enchantment that protected it from damage. Another one allowed it to provide as much protection as a suit of half plate, without sacrificing mobility. His belt had long ago been replaced with a simpler one. He also had a magical longsword which normally was in it's scabbard at his side.

The survival knife was still there, but the punching dagger had been replaced with a different one. One capable of actually capable of harming ghosts. As for the 'this' he'd been pulled into, Anna and he had been embroiled in the defense of Waterdeep. A city which was once again under assault by dark skinned elves called drow. A few feet away from him, the girl who'd convinced him to help the local Constable was weaving her way through a wall of glistening steel.

_If there's one thing I hate about drow,_ he thought while countering another attack, _it's that they always poison their weapons._ While their poisons were unlikely to actually kill him, they did cause a lot of pain. An entirely too familiar whistling sound alerted Faerie to impending danger from behind. As the middle aged man dove behind a low wall a sphere of fire detonated. The din of combat seemed to be lessening. Looking out from his cover, the warrior examined the battle field.

It looked like reinforcements had finally arrived. And not a moment too soon. The beleaguered defenders had been close to being overwhelmed. For years Faerie had told his friends that he'd like to think he'd protect others if he had an edge. Now for some reason he had that edge. And ironically enough, it was only with reluctance that he risked life and limb for others. It happened, and far too often for Faerie's taste. But it wasn't a preferred lifestyle.

With a tired sigh he pulled a potion bottle from one breast pouch and drank it's contents.

_Time passes_

The inn had been a trap. That much was obvious now. Anna looked around her current surroundings with disgust. It looked like a dungeon. She was strung up against a wall, spread eagle. Worst of all, her cloths were missing. An experimental tugging on the chains revealed they would probably not hold long. This was one of the few times when being male would actually be an advantage. And yet her ability to shift genders seemed to be blocked.

Many assumed her to be a monk. Not surprising really. Anna had been trained in her family arts since she could walk. This by the age of sixteen had made the teen a master of unarmed combat. The five years since leaving home had only sharpened those skills. Because of the unusual training methods her parents used, Anna was incredibly strong. Why, one time she'd managed to out arm wrestle a hill giant. She'd barely done it, but still the fact remained.

A mighty pull ripped iron bolts from stone wall. The chains had been designed with a normal person in mind, not someone as strong as a hill giant. Okay, almost as strong. The cuffs themselves would be more of a problem. Tearing off the chains a few links out wasn't much of an issue though. A bigger one was her unclothed state. _No good reason can exist for this._ The thought was accompanied by a scowl. _Better rescue Faerie, and anyone else caught by that trap._

The door to the cell proved to be unlocked. There didn't seem to be any guards either. While searching a small storeroom was discovered. Within Anna found what appeared to be some sort of skimpy maid outfit. Since it was better then the alternative the embarrassing cloths were quickly donned. She was about to leave the room when Anna heard voices in the hallway. They were approaching slowly, but clearly audible.

"_That new kit will make us rich,"_ one male voice said with a dark chuckle.

"_As will the girl once she's broken," _a second male voice said.

"_Yeah,"_ the first one responded. _"But why didn't the curse take effect?"_

_Curse?_ Anna thought to herself. _I don't like the sounds of that._

"_Who knows? I figure once she's been put to work the boss can figure it out anytime. Too bad the original escaped."_

The two men were then out of hearing. So it was back to searching. But now Anna was even more worried. Whoever was behind this, they had to be stopped. And the sexy kitten inn would have to be shut down. Considering from a young age the young woman had been taught to be hyper aware of her surroundings, walking into an invisible object alarmed her. Anna opened her senses like her parents had taught and sought out the invisible person's location.

Oddly enough, she couldn't sense anything. Even the best mage couldn't hide their ki signature. The best thief couldn't hide their ki signature either, and still left minor clues to their location. There was only one person who could so completely erase their presence. It was someone Anna hadn't seen in four years. A person the young woman was sure would be mad at her to boot. There was a reason she normally avoided the area near Shadowdale.

"Mom? What are you doing here?"

The unseen woman relaxed a little. Turning around, Ranma Masaki suddenly lost her focus. As she faded into view her daughter could see an expression of righteous fury directed at her. Anna found herself being dragged into one of the many storerooms in the area. This particular one held leather and metal bands identical to the one around her mother's neck. Which caused a double take. Why was her mother wearing one of those collars? Let alone that incredibly pink and highly impractical outfit?

"Anna Reese Masaki, what in Bast's name are you wearing!" Her mother practically yelled.

_Elsewhere_

Faerie would have ground his teeth if able. Hell, if his body would respond to his will there would be a lot of severely hurt slavers. The man had gone to sleep in the Sexy Kitten inn. But waking up hadn't been in the inn. It had been on a bed with some unknown man raping him. This was how Faerie had discovered that the one constant in his life these last four years was gone. Faerie was no longer a man. Or human for that matter.

Humans after all don't have orange fur. The first thing 'he' did was try to deck the rapist. Try being the operative word. His, or rather her body refused to obey. The only thing being worn was apparently a collar of some sort. She could feel it through the thin fur. Any aggressive action seemed to be impossible. But if there was one thing twenty years of roleplaying had taught, it was to be creative. Since the only things this compulsion seemed to allow were expressions of passion, it limited options.

With the man still forcing himself upon Faerie, she grabbed the bed posts. With a scream as if in the throws of an orgasm, she tightened the muscles of each arm. With a loud crack the headboard came off. It's momentum caused the solid oak to slam into the man's head with a loud clunk. The compulsion didn't seem to recognize this as an attack though. Merely a reflexive action due to stimuli. And to a large degree it was. That Faerie had known this would happen was immaterial.

Since that day four years ago Faerie had been in perfect health. Even more so then what should have been possible. Muscles that had been missing when born had been regenerated. The length of her large intestine that had been surgecally removed regrew, and the plumbing had rerouted to the 'normal' position. Eyesight had improved to the point where her glasses made it hard to see, not easier. But the most startling change had been her strength.

While muscle mass hadn't increased at all, since that day Faerie had been able to lift over half a ton. So ripping off an oak headboard hadn't exactly been a challenge. It wasn't exactly made of thick beams or anything. With that dealt with, Faerie focused on trying to mentally overpower the compulsion. Which proved to be difficult. While not exactly week willed, resisting mind affecting magics was not easy for her. Easier then for many warriors Faerie had met, but still not easy.

A lifetime of being a couch potato doesn't translate well into having an iron will after all. Another difficulty proved to be simply being a non-human female. Faerie's balance was off. His, her, it was confusing but the breasts kept throwing Faerie off every time they swayed. It was also starting to cause back pain. The tail seemed to help a little. But it got in the way almost as much as it helped. Then there was the problem of being unarmed. Every scrap of combat skill was hard earned, and self taught. But hand to hand combat was not among those skills.

That made two priorities. The first being cloths, the second being weapons. The bed supplied both needs well enough. A board from the bed's frame could serve as a makeshift staff. And the fitted sheet was quickly converted into a makeshift shirt. Faerie made the shirt long enough to conceal everything. It wasn't a pretty job. Nor would it last for long. But it was good enough for the moment. The collar wasn't coming off either.

Years of roleplaying said the collar was probably cursed if it wouldn't come off. Which meant it was probably the source of that compulsion. Since there were only two spells which could be responsible, the former roleplayer deduced it must have been a lesser gais spell embedded in the collar. _That spell has a duration of days for tasks that can't be completed. Since I'm guessing 'be a willing sex slave' is such a task, wouldn't that mean the collar reapplies the spell every few days?_

_Back at the ranch_

It had taken three months to track Ranma down. Another month had been spent investigating the situation. Which meant by the time Sam Masaki had discovered the sexy kitten inn's connection to his wife's kidnappers, his daughter had already fallen into their hands. If there was any consolation to be had, this event had lead Sam to where his wife was probably being held. It had taken every bit of willpower to not rescue his 'little' Anna.

Instead the man followed the caravan, intending to trail them to their destination. Unfortunately the destination proved to be a keep. Not one to overestimate his skills, Sam decided he would need help. After all, Ranma had been captured by these people. And that said they were capable of handling someone of his power and skill. Fortunately there were a few people he could trust. He'd first met the group shortly after Anna left home.

Their leader was a elven woman named Shardrena Treerunner. A girl of fiery hair, and equally fiery temper. She was a spell caster of some sort. Considering her tome always carried around, Sam assumed her to be a wizard. A powerful one at that. He'd seen her using magic for far longer then other wizards of comparable experience on this world. With Shardrena traveled a stout and taciturn man of indeterminate age named Bashar. A warrior of some skill, he preferred to let his sword do the talking when it came to a confrontation.

With them traveled two others. The first was a young thief with a surprisingly noble heart. Carl was of a race known as halflings, although he was all courage. From the tales Shardrena spun the young thief had once managed to trick a beholder into thinking it was the bodyguard of the four adventurers. The fourth member of their band was a warrior priest who served the the patron goddess of magic. The four were rumored to be in the area, hot on the trail of some slavers.

Tracking down the band of adventurers had been a task which took two weeks in it's self. But now they were ready. The keep laid ahead, and within it was his family. For the first time in a little over two decades Sam Masaki triggered his unnatural abilities. An aura of freezing cold surrounded him. The intense cold flash froze his cloths even as his body turned into living ice. A fact which he'd forgotten about. When next he moved the crystallized breaches and tunic shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Oops," Sam said as he dove into a nearby stream.

From the chilled waters emerged a busty teenage girl made of ice. Her hair was an unnatural shade of blue. She was wearing a sleeveless and legless white bodysuit with a diamond cut out in the middle of the chest. White gloves covered her hands, and white knee length boots encased her feet. There was a time this costume had embarrassed Sam. Over the years it had become first accepted, then appreciated. It had been subtle, but over the years Sam had grown to enjoy showing off her female form's assets. Especially around Ranma.

_Hey look, it's a scene change!_

The alarm had been raised. One of the slaves had somehow managed to kill a client and escape. Again. A second slave had escaped the dungeons as well. As if that wasn't bad enough, an elemental was assaulting the keep as well. The fact the elemental was accompanied by four adventurers seemed almost inconsequential. It was one thing when giants toss trees like javelins at a keep's gate. It was something else all together when six foot tall ice maidens did the same.

Even as the outer gate was under attack, two other battles had been started in the slave pen and 'work' quarters. While there were a little over two hundred men stationed in the keep, they were feeling overwhelmed. Two of the escaped slaves had proven to be monks of incredible strength and skill. The third was a warrior of some sort, also with inhuman strength. It was starting to alarm the mage Alistar. Nothing had even remotely hinted the two new slaves were this dangerous.

While te two monks moved like the wind, avoiding most blows the warrior was healing almost as fast as they could hurt her. Even the traditional methods of halting regeneration, acid and fire, were less then effective. Oh sure, fire and acid hurt the feline slave. Acid seemed to be more effective then fire for some reason. But they didn't prevent regeneration. One group of men would try to subdue her, and fail. By the time another group could be sent the slave would be fully recovered.

Not that many could be spared for the task. Between the three engagements, Alistar's men were getting hammered. A loud splintering crash signaled the end of the drawbridge. Which he hoped would at least delay those outside the keep. The only real consolation was that all three escaped slaves had yet to leave the areas slaves are permitted. A sure sign the enchantments on their collars hadn't completely failed. It still left him wondering why they were able to fight back at all.

It was small comfort though. Unless the slaves could be subdued, their inability to leave meant little. Nor was it stopping the others from invading his domain. One of the intruders reminded Alistar of another time one of his projects had been ruined. While the name of the elf eluded him, the spitfire wizard had been responsible for his failed attempt to establish a new thieves guild in Balder's Gate. And again when he tried taking advantage of the aftermath of something big in Neverwinter.

The elf spat a stream of fire at his men, roasting them alive. _That's new,_ he thought even as plans for a hasty exit were made. His sex kitten slave ring was finished, that much was clear. It would be better to start again elsewhere. Maybe try something new. Something that wouldn't draw the ire of strange ice elementals and monks capable of throwing trees around. Maybe he could look into rumors of a mystic pool of untold power near the ruins of an ancient elven city. Yes, that sounded like a safer idea then sticking around.

_Gee, another one already?_

It had been an hour since the last thug had shown up. Distant sounds of battle had finally ended. So now Anna started searching for her friend. The search also had the benefit of avoiding her mother's accusations. _Mom sure is pissed,_ she thought with a little annoyance. _Their slavers, they deserve what they got. Besides, every one spared will just go back to doing this. Or be executed anyway. _Upon reaching one hall though the young woman found herself unable to enter it.

There wasn't a physical barrier or anything. It was rather a case of being unable to willingly step into the hall. Only once before had Anna experienced something like this. That was three years ago. A baron had his court wizard place a geas on both Faerie and herself. Until the bandit troubles had been ended they had been compelled to spend as much time as they could tracking the criminals. Anna would have done so anyway, but they were punished for Faerie's actions.

For the thousandth time she wondered at his real name. The mysterious man had never given it. Instead he'd taken to using an apparent title as his name, that of Faerie Knight. Where he came from was a mystery. He had things unheard of by anyone else. His vest alone was a marvel due to it's versatility. The pack he carried was also unlike anything seen before. His dagger was an unusual design. Never before had Anna heard of one with a hollowed out metal hilt. Nor did it show any signs of a smith's hammer ever touching it.

A while back Faerie had the knife enchanted to retain it's edge. Not to make it more dangerous. Not to add additional features to it. Just to retain it's cutting edge. He was so unlike anyone else Anna had met before. This introspection was getting her nowhere though. Over the course of an hour the extent of her limits was discovered. One tower was accessible, as well as the one wing of what appeared to be a keep. The dungeons too were accessible.

During the search Anna had found hundreds of young feline humanoids females. Another common sight was that all had a collar around their necks. Was this the curse that had been mentioned? It seemed likely. Which made it less likely that Anna would recognize her friend. The keep also seemed entirely too large. From looking out a tower window, there was no way it's size accounted for how much interior space there was. Which meant magic was involved.

Powerful magic at that. A kind completely unheard of to Anna. Now it should be noted that Anna didn't distrust magic anywhere near as much as her mom. It could be helpful, or harmful. It all depended on the user. For every evil wizard or cursed item, Anna knew there were ten good wizards and helpful items. Or at least indifferent wizards.

But even the most powerful couldn't turn a normal keep's tower into a six league tall one. Towards the top of the tower she came across yet another feline humanoid slave. This one however had used a sheet to make a sort of shirt. She also was wielding a bloody length of wood. This was a first. She seemed to recognize Anna too. That was a good sign. Anna stopped and tried to catch her breath. If this was who she feared, then half the search was over.

"Faerie, is that you?"

The felinoid nodded. "Yeah, the bastards did something to me. Anyway, let's get out of here."

Anna's scowl expressed her displeasure at the situation. "Easier said then done. This place is huge, and I couldn't actually leave the slave wing."

Faerie nodded at that. "Wall of force, or compulsion?"

"Compulsion, but irresistible. I overheard something about the slavers wanting to 'break' me since I was immune to a curse." Anna told him, her, pronouns were confusing at the moment.

Faerie nodded her head in thought. "A geas then, probably greater. There has to be a way to reapply the spell periodically. Otherwise it'd wear off after a month at most since the task can't be completed. I was under a lesser geas to be an obedient sex slave when I first became aware. Again, probably will be automatically reapplied. It's likely from these collars. I don't suppose you found where our stuff was stored?"

Anna shook her head, which caused Faerie to curse. _The treasure room probably is outside our 'area'. _Faerie lead her friend back down the stairs. It would take time to reach the ground, apparently. But it was better to be together then separated. Along the way they could round up the slaves. Faerie had spied a group attacking the place at one point. And one of them appeared to be an honest to god super hero. Which hinted at who it might be.

"Don't suppose you found your mom somewhere in here too? I think I saw your dad with a group of adventurers attacking the place."

_Dang there's a lot of these things_

The keep's interior reminded Sam too much of Washu's lab. The inside was far too big to fit within the outer walls. Which meant that it likely wasn't fully contained within the structure. This idea was confirmed when Shardrena commented upon there being a desert outside one window. Due to the vast size, either this facility had been found by the slavers, or had been built some time ago. There also was another problem. The place was too large to search systematically.

Fortunately one of the leaders had a map of the general layout. As well as written orders. This was the center of something much much larger. A slavery ring that spanned several 'planes' as they called it on this planet. Sam would have said it spanned multiple dimensions. The keep appeared to act as a central distributing hub, as well as brothel for members of the cabal and their allies _I'll have to tell the harpers about this. It's too big for one small band to handle._

"Well guys, I've narrowed down where they are. But it's still a big area to search. And there's who knows how many others to rescue too."

After going over some notes in the 'office' they had found, Sam really hoped they could help the girls here..


	4. Chapter Three

**DISCLAIMER: **I still don't own Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Oh! My Goddess, or any other property which might show up. What I do own is the Freedom Society and it's world setting. They originate from a long standing Heroes Unlimited campaign that spanned six decades of in-game continuity. A setting and characters which the other former gaming group members gave me permission to use as my own.

**Author Note:** Still working on chapter 4. But for reasons unknown to even me I felt the need to write up a TV show opening credits sequence to insert as the first chapter.

**Wild Horses Sometimes Breed**

_by Faerie Knight _

What's in a name? A more sarcastic person might say 'letters'. Who am I kidding? I not only would say that, but I have in the past. A person's whole identity can be wrapped up around their name. For years I hated mine with a passion. Nicknames always pissed me off. I hate being given them. Yet for the past four years I've been going by my screen name exclusively. That should bother me. After all, my name is rather important to me. Not having someone use my proper name usually makes me angry.

Not even sure why I started using my screen name. At the time I'd had the feeling someone was watching. So I guess it was to remain anonymous. Since I'm in a fictional setting, traveling with the 'daughter' of a fictional character from another world, what if somehow people in my world are reading about my adventures? That's silly, I know. Yet me being here should be impossible. But anyway, what's in a name? Why is it so important to me?

It's easy to figure out why I'm obsessing about this. I'm currently being lead by a group of people. Not that being lead around is anything to make me go all introspective. No, it's the fact they had to link me to a bunch of others via a chain. Sure I got my stuff back, mostly. Need to replace my sword, again. But this was the only way to get me out of that place. Don't know where I'm going. And I don't have a choice about going there. That, and I'm worried about if I can resist the other geas when it's reapplied.

So what's in a name? Does it matter if I go by 'faerie knight' anymore? Should I just use my name? Or is it even mine anymore? I know that in magic names have power. Does my name still have power over me? Am I still who I was, or am I someone else now? Does it matter anymore? I've been turned into a freak of nature. Even if I found a way home, taking it would be tantamount to suicide. As the saying goes, you can't go home again.

_**XxXxX**_

_Maybe he can do something,_ Sam thought as he lead almost three hundred slave girls. That two were his wife and daughter sat poorly with the man. He'd tried every trustworthy wizard he knew. Yet none had been able to remove the geas on the girls, or the curses. It was fortunate the slave chains appeared to partly suppress the geas. Trying to transport hundreds of girls who can barely move would not have been fun. As it was he'd dealt with misunderstandings multiple times.

The harpers had said they'd send people to deal with the keep. Shardrena and her friends had left to continue chasing the wizard Alistar Sam wished them luck. He also hoped Shardrena found the answers she was looking for. When they had first met the elven girl had been obsessed with finding the dragon that killed her parents. But now it was becoming increasingly obvious the dragon might have been one of her parents. At least it was obvious to the former super hero.

He didn't get along with the old man anywhere near as well as Ranma did. Still, it was useful to know someone on a first name basis with a deity. Sure they could have reached the destination faster using Ranma's ship. Except the various curses that wizard had used meant Ranma herself couldn't guide them, and Sam was unable to really interact with the tree. As the group approached the old wizard's tower Sam wondered again how things had gotten so complicated.

_**XxXxX**_

He was an old man. While still in fairly good shape, the man had seen better days. His once well defined muscles had softened over the years. Skin that once could almost withstand a bullet without injury had softened. Even his skills had deteriorated to an extent. His body just couldn't handle the stresses going full out entailed anymore. If there was one thing about the Japanese man hadn't changed though, it was his sense of direction.

Or rather, his lack of one. For sixty years he had struggled to find the one he blamed for all his problems. Sixty years of fruitless searching. Every time he got close, some spandex clad idiot would attack him. Ryoga Hibiki was a wanted man after all. They claimed him to be a murderer and terrorist. This too he blamed on Ranma Saotome. Everything was Ranma's fault, or at least it was if one asked Ryoga. Even being unable to tell left from right was his fault.

Even after seventy-four years he still was vowing revenge upon the pig tailed martial artist. He still blamed Ranma for everything that ever happened to him. This alone said something unflattering about Ryoga. At the moment the old man was wandering around a forest, somewhere. The week previous his depression had peaked again. In it's wake there was a new crater in the forest. When next he'd been in a city, he'd seen a newspaper laying on the ground.

It's headline had read _"Terrorist strike in the heartland". _As he read the article his blood boiled. The paper claimed he had murdered a dozen children in Iowa. The picture shown was that of a huge blast crater. One Ryoga recognized from intimate experience. That no one else was to blame but him eluded the obsessed man though. Instead once more he vowed revenge on Ranma Saotome. No one else in his mind could possible be to blame. So here he was, in the middle of nowhere searching eternally for the one man to blame for all his problems.

That the forest consisted of metal walls, floor, and ceiling hadn't registered on his brain yet. To those around him, they wondered how the old man had gotten on Earth's first government owned intergalactic transport shuttle. Security officers notified the captain. The captain called an emergency meeting of his top officers. The near legendary pig-man was onboard his vessel. And to make matters worse, none of the security personnel were skilled enough to deal with a terrorist of that caliber.

None of this registered to Ryoga Hibiki though. By the time he realized the forest had vanished, the vessel was already in hyperspace. A fact which did interesting things to the Hibiki directional curse. For the first time in his life Ryoga found he could differentiate between right and left. While his present location was still an unknown, it didn't seem like the world's features were constantly being rearranged on him. Almost reflexively he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Curse you Saotome! This is all your fault!"

It was only after the fact that Ryoga realized what he'd just done. _Did I just blame Ranma for something good happening?_ He thought in confusion. Since the age of eleven he'd been blaming Ranma Saotome for everything that happened to him. Even his inability to find his way around a room with one door had been laid at Ranma's feet. A common claim of Hibiki had always been 'it's all Ranma's fault'. But until this moment he'd never considered one minor aspect of his claim.

If everything that happened to him was Ranma Saotome's fault, then Hibiki had to then attribute anything good that happened to the man as well as anything bad. This was a sobering thought. The idea of ascribing anything positive to his hated foe sat ill with the elderly man. He'd nurtured hatred for too long. Long ago revenge had become Rygoa's sole reason for living. Even he wasn't sure when exactly it happened. Even his sweet Akane hadn't been able to end the hunt for vengeance.

Granted, it hadn't helped when his curse had been revealed. Nor had certain actions taken when in a dark mood. If the man had ever actually studied chi manipulation he might have recognized the signs. There weren't many, but they were out there. For every thousand martial artists who devoted the time to become masters, there was one who dedicated their life to the art. While most of the chi masters usually were in their golden years, not all were.

Several decades ago Ryoga had witnessed a fairly young man in a garish green costume. This man had done things with his chi Ryoga hadn't thought possible. While the unknown man's strength had appeared normal for a human, he'd been extremely agile. Possibly as much so as Saotome. This man had managed to heal someone shot by muggers just by channeling chi into the wound. Even more impressive had been the man's fighting skills. His style had been far more graceful then Ryoga had thought combat could be.

_Elsewhere on the ship_

Sixty years is a long time to be separated. Even more so when it's because someone has been in prison. An elderly woman sat in her room and brooded on the past. Of mistakes made, and paths not taken. Never in her life had the woman considered that she'd leave the earth. But her sister was going to be released in a few weeks. And the woman felt it important to see her only surviving sister one last time. For you see, the woman was named Akane Tendo. And she was dying.

With her traveled Akane's daughter-in-law and granddaughter. For most of her granddaughter's life Akane had not been there. It had hurt too much to see her son. A man who looked so like his father. A man who just by existing had reminded Akane of her greatest mistake, and biggest shame. While Akane had never married, in her youth she'd been engaged. At the time she'd hated the situation. Her fiance had been struck whenever she was angered, weather it was justified or not.

It was only after the Saotome boy, by then a man, had left that Akane had started to see the full picture. For years she'd accused Ranma Saotome of picking on both her pet pig and her friend. The evidence of her eyes had been all that was needed. The context of the fights hadn't mattered. In retrospect, her discovery had only been a matter of time. Without the chaos surrounding the Saotomes, there had been nothing to distract her from discovering the identity of Nerima's final cursed individual.

And with that discovery had came a rage built upon by years of being taken advantage of. So at the time Akane had done what she usually did when angered or embarrassed. She lashed out. What had happened next had shattered Akane's illusions regarding personal skill in martial arts. Even now, forty years later, she couldn't bear to think of that day. On that day four decades ago she'd learned how little honor and morality Ryoga Hibiki had left. That was the day he stole something which can never be returned.

If given the choice, she'd have never had the baby. Or even given the child up for adoption. But the choice hadn't been hers. Daddy had put his foot down on the issue. The Tendo name and art would continue through the unwanted baby. So nine months after being violated Koukai Tendo had been born. Akane's oldest sister had been the one to mostly raise Koukai. Looking at her son merely served as a reminder of what had happened.

_I couldn't even go to Koukai's wedding. He looked so much like that bastard._ Her grandchild seemed to know what was wrong. The young woman was barely seventeen. Even in her old age, Akane still didn't like physical contact. But the young woman had still engulfed her in a hug. It was an awkward embrace that followed. The elder due to discomfort with such acts, and the younger due to not wanting to hurt her grandmother.

"Dad forgave you Grandma, please forgive yourself." The teen said with tears in her eyes.

"I know Nozomi. I wish I could have been there for you sooner." Akane told her descendent.

"Grandma, are we going to see Aunt Ranko?"

"No my ray of hope, but you will meet an aunt."

"When will I get to meet Aunt Ranko? I've never actually seen her, just exchanged letters."

"I don't know dear. She left earth before you were born. When we last spoke Ranko said she needed to live a peaceful life for awhile. She was hurting as I remember. She'd just buried several old friends."

What Akane didn't mention was that an honor pledge between her family and the former Saotome still existed. There was no indication her former fiance had ever had any children. Then there was another complication. What if Ranma's real family disapproved of the agreement? No, it was better not to mention the family's other shame. When she saw the disappointment, Akane couldn't help but feel for the teen. A soft chime indicated there was a message. Earth had opted to use chimes instead of having the little imps shout out 'Message' in an annoying voice.

After retrieving it, Akane noted that the message was addressed to her, and labeled as private and urgent. She didn't recognize the sender. A quick once over however showed that it was about her sister. This warranted more detailed reading. At first Akane's expression was one of concern. This quickly morphed into a stony mask. The message scroll was crushed, and dropped by a still shaking elderly woman. Concerned, Nozomi picked up the scroll and started to read it.

"_I regret to inform you of a grevious injustice done to your family. While transporting the cryo tube for prisoner 66197 it was discovered technicians had deliberately sabotaged the stasis unit. An investigation is currently under way. However there is no means to determine how long this has been let sit. The results of the tampering is to leave the prisoner conscious while still within cryogenic stasis."_

"Grandma, why is the galaxy police chief writing you about a prisoner?"

"Because she's my sister."

_**XxXxX**_

Four figures sat around a low table. They were all female, and appeared to be quite young. Two of them were obviously a couple, their hands entwined with each other. The others looked annoyed and sheepish respectively. They were the Masaki family, and the youngest Masaki's friend. Although Faerie didn't appear too pleased with being a busty female with tan fur and black spots. Anna herself was uncomfortable too. This was a reunion she wasn't exactly ready for.

"Mom, mom, I'd like you to meet Faerie Knight."

The felinoid shook her head. "Actually, it's Dan. Faerie Knight is my screen name when online. And you must be Ranma Saotome."

The red haired teenager spoke up. "Masaki, But how do you know me?"

"Right," Dan began. "Because where I come from I enjoy reading the manga about you and watching the anime. And you are Sam Bricklbuster?"

The teen with blue hair shook her head to indicate the mistake. "Masaki, we're married."

When the tan furred girl blinked the couple laughed. "I don't suppose there's any relationship to a Tenchi Masaki?"

"Her cousin," Sam replied.

"Riiight," Dan said sarcastically. "Then would someone mind explaining how I'm sitting in front of one of my heroes unlimited characters and my favorite anime's main character? And while you're at it, mind explaining how the frell we're all in _the_ most famous Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings? Magic I can understand, hell I have a faerie of some sort that keeps visiting my apartment. And my best friend uses ritual magic. But I just had Elminster the freaking archmage remove two curses and tell me I'm going to keep changing into a freak of nature."

Her comments raised a couple eyebrows. Neither of them had heard of 'dungeons and dragons'. Nor had the Masaki family heard of anything called heroes unlimited. The closest they knew of was a newsletter for the heroic community called 'Heroes United'. Then there was the disturbing fact this stranger seemed to know them both. Sam did her best to refrain from any snarky comments. Her wife on the other hand made no such attempt.

"So you claim to be the kami messing with my life?"

Dan thought a moment. "Kami, kami, let's see here... No, I'm no god. In my world though you are a fictional character. I have to wonder though, what the frell is Sam Bricklbuster doing as a teenage girl?"

It was rather clear the furry girl was having trouble reigning in her temper at the moment. That she managed to curtail any foul language was a feat in it's self. Ever since the rescue a month ago Dan had been growing increasingly irritable. And unlike the others from the slavery ring, Dan hadn't immediately reverted to original gender and race. It had been determined the recently transformed felinoid would be able to, but not when. It had also been learned her new form was a permanent addition.

The reasons for that had been unknown. It might have had something to do with the unusual magic coursing through Dan's body. Or due to her being from another plane of existence, according to the ancient mage. It might even have been due to a previously unknown spell being used. No one could rightly say. Long experience hinted to the teenage Masaki elders what the problem might be. And it worried them greatly.

_I really hope this girl isn't really a berserker. They're bad enough. But a berzerker going through pms? No fucking way do I want do deal with that!_ Sam thought to herself. After six decades she and Ranko had developed a sort of silent communication. The two former superheroes exchanged glances before nodding in unison. Unlike the barbarians of this world, the girl calling herself Dan had all the hallmarks of someone truly dangerous to those around them.

Ranko for her part was considering another aspect of this stranger. _She claims to know about my life in Nerima. And seems to be spot on for the most part. She also knows about the Masaki's. Maybe it's time to tell Anna about her family. I'd rather be the one telling her, not some stranger._ Even with her conviction, it was a hard decision to make. For twenty years Ranko had been running from her pain. It might not have seemed like it to others though.

The deaths of her friends had hurt far more then Ranko had admitted. It hurt enough to cause her to flee her homeworld. Enough even that she settled into the life of a housewife. For twenty years she'd avoided the past. But now it was catching up with her. Sam too had been running from the past. But not quite for the same reasons. After all this time, Ranko understood her husband. He didn't fight injustice because it was the right thing to do. No, he did so because of a deep rooted guilt.

"Sam, I think it's time we stopped running. Maybe not pick up the 'never-ending battle' just yet, but it's time to confront our ghosts. Besides, Grandpa should beet our daughter."

_**XxXxX**_

Her name was Shampoo, and it had been entirely too long since she'd seen home. At first it was due to being in prison on an alien world. Then the amazon woman had been forced into a school of some sort. While her Japanese was still broken, she'd managed to become fluent in the main galactic trade languages. But that was more due to necessity. The galaxy can be unforgiving to someone with poor language skills. It was also humbling to know her tribe's three thousand plus years of history meant little in the grand scheme of things.

It's actually hard to consider your tribe important when there's scientists who have lived longer then your tribe has existed. Even harder when you actually meet said scientist multiple times. It's hard to look down on males as weak when you meet several who can stop a pirate cruiser's weapons fire. Pride, she discovered, takes a backseat to survival. And over time her ideas of what constituted survival had changed too. No longer was Shampoo content with living a simple life.

After touching the stars, returning to being a simple warrior woman for a backwoods village seemed less important. It wasn't that Shampoo had stopped being a warrior. She just changed venues. Instead of defending her village and way of life, Shampoo now defended her ship from pirates. But Pride of Life was in dry dock for repairs. On their last trip pirates had attacked, crippling the vessel. It was only the timely arrival of an unusual GP ship captained by the near legendary Seina Yamata that saved them.

So now she was waiting for the transport that would take her home. For the first time since being released, Shampoo would return to Earth. She couldn't help but wonder how things had changed. Such thoughts were put on hold though when the lights began to blink red. Klaxons sounded throughout the station as well. The warrior woman grabbed her sword and pistol before checking in. The situation proved to be serious.

The transport from Earth was under attack by an unknown fleet. Which meant the station it's self would also likely end up under assault. As any professional soldier can tell you, it's not the combat that gets to you. What really hits the hardest is the waiting. When you know bullets are about to fly, but not when. That is the real killer. It plays havoc with one's nerves. That was an aspect of war her youth had never prepared Shampoo for. When young, war had seemed a game.

Stakes like life and death hadn't seemed that big. When a teenage girl had challenged for the prize of her village's tournament it was pride that gave the kiss of death. Even love had been a misunderstood concept. Anymore, the idea that a male loves you just because they defeated you in combat was laughable. It had taken a shipmate dying in her arms to drive home just how serious things were. The first time Shampoo had killed, she'd been unable to stop crying for two days.

As she waited for the inevitable boarding action Shampoo couldn't help but dwell on past mistakes. As well as how they had affected her life. In some ways life was better now. There were times the earthling felt glad she'd been arrested. If things had continued as they once were, where would Shampoo be now? The question was impossible to answer. When had things changed so drastically? She didn't know the reasons why, but it had started when Ranma Saotome had vanished.

But war wasn't a game anymore. And now she could only wait while one of the few links to the past was in danger. Shampoo was after all just a member of her ship's security crew. Pride of Life was a GP cargo transport ship after all. They had been delivering supplies to this station. One used mostly for the release of prisoners. In fact it was the same station Shampoo herself had awoken on after her sentence. _Is that a Jurian tree ship? _Shampoo thought as she observed the space battle on a monitor.

It was sometimes hard to tell them apart. All tree ships looked pretty much alike to the woman. Then again it was uncommon to actually see one. The Devil Princess was the most likely to be seen, and even that was an event to dread. The monitor screen then flashed read with the kanji for 'wild horse' flashing. It was a little known warning signal. One not used very often, and not seen in twenty years. But Shampoo could guess what it meant.

Seto's triple z is much more commonly known. But then she actively patrols. Wild Horse wasn't quite as powerful. It's radius was about half that of the triple Z. And it's only been used twice to Shampoo's knowledge. There was also only one ship authorized to use that warning code or weapon. It was a man or woman, the reports were indecisive, who hadn't been heard from four two decades. Shampoo could guess who the person was despite not having high enough clearance to know.

_**Past and present converge as danger looms on the horizon. But who would dare attack a Galaxy Police outpost? Next time on Wild Horses Sometimes Breed: Of Foes and Family, reunion of the heart**_


	5. Chapter Four

**DISCLAIMER: **I still don't own Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Oh! My Goddess, or any other property which might show up. Nor do I claim some lines in the story. They belong to the song writers and artists who originated them. What I do own is the Freedom Society and it's specific world setting. They originate from a long standing Heroes Unlimited campaign that spanned six decades of in-game continuity. A setting and characters which the other former gaming group members gave me permission to use as my own.

**Wild Horses Sometimes Breed**

_by Faerie Knight _

To say Anna Masaki was stunned would be like claiming water is wet. Namely this state of being was so self evident that it shouldn't have required being said. Two weeks ago her, currently his, life had been predictable. Travel the world with his friend and help those in trouble. That was before Anna's parents decided to visit the rest of the family. A decision which had dragged both Anna and his friend Dan into a vessel made entirely of wood. A vessel which impossibly was located in the great void.

Beside him, Dan was in full otaku mode. While Anna was baffled by the vessel having a large forest within it, Dan had been excited. Which was sort of a good thing. It had kept the furry girl distracted from her current state of being. And yet, the incessant rambling about the early career of someone named Yamata was getting on his nerves. His nerves, that was another part of the problem. Anna had only recently gained complete control over his gender changes. Yet his mom had insisted on Anna remaining male for as long as it took Dan to recover her birth gender.

"How do you even know this 'Yamata' person?" Anna demanded of his companion in exasperation.

The tan furred felinoid either didn't hear the question, or ignored it in favor of an excited "Will I meet Fuku? Wonder if Tenchi's around? Bet Washu could fix this no problem!"

Any further rambling was cut short when klaxons sounded. Since they were in the habitat area, the reasons for an alarm were not immediately obvious. Even after the two weeks on board this ship, Anna was still baffled how a forest could be growing in it. It was impossibly huge, not to mention filled with animals he'd never seen before. But that didn't stop the stampede initiated by sounding klaxons. Nor did it prevent the ground from shaking due to an impact.

A shimmering in the air was all the warning the two got before a dozen women of around twenty years appeared. They wore dark red body suits and held maces of unusual shape. Some had swords of energy instead of the large headed maces. Seeing the menace in their eyes, Dan pulled out a small punching dagger from it's sheath. _Frack, wish I had my sword!_ She thought angrily. _I recognize them. They were nameless warriors in the flashback of Ranma episode fifteen. What the frell are they doing here? Eyes look a little glazed too. Better warn Anna about this._

"Non-lethal, they're being controlled." Dan snapped as she sprang into action.

As one man and unwilling woman clashed with the unknown warriors. Where Anna fought with trained grace and power, the felinoid once called Faerie Knight used natural agility combined with hard won experience. The unknown attackers however proved to posses unnatural speed and strength. While the young man found himself barely able to keep up it wouldn't last forever. Dan on the other hand was discovering her reflexes were ill equipped to deal with these foes.

Years of fighting humans, orcs, and other dangers in the forgotten realms had conditioned Dan to facing those with normal reflexes. While her own reaction times were phenomenal when compared to a normal person, they still were limited when dealing with truly super human reflexes. This was hammered home quite painfully as one of the oversized maces impacted against Dan's ribs. Only hard won experience allowed her to turn with the impact enough to prevent the ribs from shattering. Instead they were merely bruised.

A couple feet away Anna was weaving through a brutal series of thrusts and punishing overhand blows. While the young man's experiences had been mostly slower foes, a lifetime of training had well prepared Anna for the fight. It helped that his teachers had possessed decades of experience facing foes with more then human capabilities. Even so, there were too many foes. While avoiding injury was possible, it was taking all of Anna's skill and concentration. **(A/N: in D&D 3.5 it would be Total Defense standard action each round, for Palladium games it would be the equivalent of dodging often enough to lose all attacks for the round for multiple combat rounds)**

In a battle of attrition there is one universal fact; no one has ever won by just defending. This is true on all levels. Irregardless of one's skill or an army's might staying purely on the defensive is a sure way to lose. This was something Anna had been taught all his life. His companion equally was aware of the fact. Trusting her inhumanly fast healing, Dan stepped into another horizontal swing of a mace. This provided an opening to grab said weapon and rip it out of her attacker's hands.

Dan's right fist jabbed into her foe's stomach six times rapidly. The punching dagger held in that hand combined with the force of the blows to take one of them down. A quick backhand swing with the mace cleared the immediate area. Meanwhile Anna had delivered a punishing ax kick to the shoulder of another amazonian warrior. While there was the satisfying crunch of breaking bone and howl of pain, the action left him open to attack from behind. Dan saw the sword thrusting at her friend's back, but found breathing to be a chore at the moment. Let alone moving quickly enough to save her friend's life.

The scent of ozone was the first warning of a newcomer to the battle. Then the distinct crackle of electricity arcing through the air. Burnt flesh assaulted sensitive nostrils as the amazon collapsed in a heap. Anna spun around on his heal and delivered a roundhouse to the temple of a third warrior. Shards of ice flew as if thrown knives, dissuading multiple hue haired women from closing in. Backtracking the path of the shards revealed a familiar looking figure made of living ice. It took Anna a moment to recognize who it was.

"D-dad?!" He stammered.

"Later Anna," the ice man said. "First we have some borders to repel."

_**XxXxX**_

Ryoga Hibiki was old. While still in fantastic shape for his age, the elderly man was no where near what he'd been in his youth. Thick black hair had fallen out decades ago. His trademark umbrella weighed a fraction of it's former self. The man just couldn't carry something that heavy around anymore. While still more durable then a normal person, no longer could Ryoga shrug off boulders. His skill had not really degraded, but his speed and agility had. In all honesty, it was amazing he even was still alive.

In his youth Ryoga had stumbled into a form of flawed chi mastery. He'd been taught a technique which he then messed up. Instead of a normal chi attack, he'd found a way to fire solid bursts of depression laced negative chi. There was a problem with this technique though. A problem which Ryoga was entirely unaware of. Because he'd never learned to refill his chi reserves with positive chi, he was killing himself. If it hadn't been for a hated curse, he'd have never lived to see the age of twenty.

But even if he'd known this, Ryoga could never admit even to himself the situation was his own fault. It would set a dangerous precedence. Admitting that channeling depression was a bad idea would open a flood gate. He'd have to question what other things he blamed Ranma for that were his own fault, or no one's fault. So such concepts were ignored in favor of revenge. If only he could find his hated foe. As the elderly man turned right down a new corridor the metal hall shuddered.

"_Passengers are requested to stay in their rooms," _a female voice said over the intercom. _"I repeat, this is a class one emergency. Security should report to their stations immediately and passengers are requested to stay in their rooms. Is this thing even on? Oh god! Captain!"_

After that the sounds of explosions were followed quickly by static. When women who clearly were amazons appeared in the hall the elderly man withdrew his umbrella. While Ryoga had encountered amazons many times in his youth, not once had he ever actually defeated one. This was a fact that was a never ending source of frustration. His most hated foe could fight them off casually. With a rage filled snarl the cursed man prepared to charge into combat.

He started to bring down the umbrella in an overhead smash. A curved sword pushed his weighted weapon to the side. Seconds later a slipper clad foot impacted Ryoga's hip and sent him flying backwards. There was a snapping sound just before blinding pain shot through the man's waist. _One hit, damn you Saotome! This is all your fault!_ He thought angrily when it proved too painful to stand. Once again Ryoga Hibiki blamed another for his own actions.

"Little help here," Ryoga gasped through the pain when he saw a familiar woman with age whitened hair show up in a flash of white light.

The woman grinned and quoted an old song " Ryoga, I ain't as good as I once was. My how the years have flown. But there was a time, back in my prime when I could really hold my own. But if you wanna fight tonight, guess those boys don't look all that tough. I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was"

"Curse you Saotome!"

"It's Masaki, I never was that murderous panda's son."

With that the woman extended claws of pure chi and dove into the attackers. Ryoga watched in awe as she practically danced through their ranks. Chi claws shredded weapons with ease. Even when struck by those impossibly fast punches and kicks Ranko didn't go down. Instead she used the force of the impact to spin around and assault someone else. It was a little frightening if Ryoga was honest with himself. Something he rarely was, of course.

_It isn't fair,_ Ryoga railed within his mind. _Even now he's better then me! _After nearly twenty minutes the amazons had been forced to flee. Ranko herself was out of breath and leaning against a wall. The eighty-five year old woman slowly turned to Ryoga and examined him. With a sad sigh she shook her head. _I see he still walks a path of self destruction,_ Ranko thought to herself. _Glad I've been using granpa's disguise field technique all those years on earth. It's just too hard to explain otherwise._

"You're killing yourself, you know that right?" Ranko asked as she began transporting the injured man to the ship's med bay. When Ryoga blinked in confusion before snarling she sighed once more. "Your hate and depression, it's killing you. I think I can purge the negative chi, but if you don't stop using the lion's roar bullet it's going to kill you. Even chi masters using negative chi only fill themselves with it on a temporary basis. And you aren't a chi master. Neither am I."

That Ranko wasn't speaking Japanese or English didn't register on the injured man. It was translated nearly instantly. Nor did he notice any dissonance between what was said and the movements of her mouth. In fact, between his angry growls and struggling in the girl's arms it was doubtful Ryoga had actually understood what was said. Ranko started to carry the lost man towards the medical bay. Sounds of fierce combat echoed through the halls from other parts of the intergalactic ship.

"Damn you Saotome!" Ryoga screamed as he smashed an elbow into Ranko's face.

The unexpected blow caused her head to rock backwards. It also caused the lost man to wince in pain. The apparently elderly woman shook her head to clear it. Once she was no longer seeing stars Ranko continued to walk. When the elbows to her face continued the woman started to get irritated. Finally with a low growl the woman pulled a zip tie out of no where. This she quickly secured Ryoga's wrists together and behind his back with before continuing on.

"You really are an idiot, Ryoga. With all the crimes you're already wanted for, ya just had to add assaulting an officer while I'm taking you to get patched up. You were going to be shipped back to Earth for trial. Now, I don't know what'll happen."

_**XxXxX**_

Elsewhere in the vessel an old woman and her granddaughter sat in their room. Once there was a time the woman would have charged out proclaiming for all the world how she was a martial artist too. Once she had delusions of how skilled she was. But that was long ago and it was far away, oh god how it seemed so very far. Nozomi's mother was no where to be found either. She'd wanted to explore the ship again when the attack had come. And from the sounds of it it didn't look good.

A heavy impact left a human shaped dent in the door. It was followed by something unintelligable yet angry sounding. That screams could be heard was alarming. Akane Tendo had not experienced life and death battle in her life. At least, not when aware enough to understand what was going on. So when the screams finally ended she was clutching her granddaughter tightly. The door tried opening several times. Yet it ended up stuck due to the large dent. Finally a clawed hand forced it open.

In the hall was revealed a bloody woman of clearly non-human decent. If the fur wasn't enough of a give away, the cat ears and tail would have been. Same with the clearly feline facial features. The unknown woman was holding a bloody sword as long as she was tall. Her intestines were partly hanging out of her stomach, and the left arm dangled uselessly from several fractures. That the sliced up intestines were pulling themselves back together before their eyes was frightening.

The cat-like woman scowled before lowering her weapon. There was a madness in her eyes. A rage that was entirely too familiar to the elderly woman. When that deadly looking blade rose again everyone else in the room was sure they would die. So when a young woman in simple cloths also entered the room it came as a shock. The woman took one look at the situation, and smirked in a way familiar to Akane. Slender arms wreathed in muscle wrapped around the feline's torso.

Hands more accustomed to use as weapons grabbed hold of natural orbs and squeezed lightly. The woman whispered something in the feline's ear in a soft voice. What ever had been said seemed to work. The gore covered blade was lowered before slipping out of loosening fingers. Neither woman were familiar to Akane or Nozomi. Yet the new one resembled someone from long ago. It was more then just appearance. It was the way the cerulean haired girl carried herself. The quiet confidence, so similar to that of a man from Akane's youth.

The feline woman though was frightening. And not just because of what almost happened. The elder saw herself in this woman. It was an uncomfortable reminder of youthful sins. _If my pride hadn't been stripped, would I be like that? Would I be a monster too?_ Akane mused. Nozumi though recovered from her fright quickly. Perhaps it was because of how crazy it could get back home. After all, the insanity had picked back up within the last four years.

When Nozumi walked over and tried to fondle the scary cat girl though her grandmother's heart almost stopped. Akane had known letting Happosai train the girl was a bad idea. Yet no one was able to stop him. Old issues started to resurface. The cat girl hissed angrily. And the oddly familiar stranger smacked the cat girl in the back of the head. Everyone paused when Akane smacked her granddaughter in the back of the head with her cane though.

"Nozumi Tendo, what do you think you're doing?" the elderly woman demanded. "Your as bad as your aunt."

The cat girl scowled a little. In a low voice she asked "And who is the aunt?"

The other stranger sighed as she squeezed one last time and released the catgirl. "Faerie, what was that all about? Why'd you flip out like that?"

The feline had suspicions, of course. No true otaku wouldn't. But the anger at being groped. It didn't make it any easier to reign in the mounting rage though. That would have been too easy. Knowing what had set her off to begin with would have been too easy as well. It wasn't the first time she'd been disemboweled after all. While it hurt like hell, it was usually survivable as long as it didn't happen too often. It also helped to actually avoid being hurt again for a bit to recover.

"Anyway," the human stranger commented, "Dad says he wants you checked over. Something about a possible explanation and concerns for your health." She faced Akane and bowed her head forward. "Sorry for this Ma'am. It's been a long day for us, and Faerie's been on edge all afternoon."

"Young lady, just who are you?" Akane asked the oddly familiar woman.

"Oh, I'm Anna Masaki, nice to meet you."


	6. Chapter Five

**DISCLAIMER: **I still don't own Ranma ½, Sailor Moon, Oh! My Goddess, or any other property which might show up. Nor do I claim some lines in the story. They belong to the song writers and artists who originated them. What I do own is the Freedom Society and it's specific world setting. They originate from a long standing Heroes Unlimited campaign that spanned six decades of in-game continuity. A setting and characters which the other former gaming group members gave me permission to use as my own.

**Wild Horses Sometimes Breed**

_by Faerie Knight _

It was a great relief when the all clear was sounded. That the attackers had retreated was a good thing. And yet early reports had Shampoo worried. The attackers appeared to all be women using weapons her own village favored. The two approaching ships were damaged. The one from earth had clearly taken a more severe beating though. Then the ships docked. And wasn't that a surprise and a half. Some of the passengers from the earth transport were familiar. The owners of the other ship were as well.

The first to be disembarked was an injured prisoner. The prisoner was an old man of Asian decent. After that the passengers were offloaded. There weren't many of those. Just six academy cadets who were being transferred and a family of two. The teenage girl reminded Shampoo of an old rival. From the other ship came what appeared to be another family. This one consisted of an elderly couple, the woman looking familiar, and what appeared to be their twenty something daughter. The younger girl was accompanied by a feline alien female who carried a big sword. The elderly woman waved.

"Hi Shampoo, it's been a while. Lookin good, what's your secret?"

"Ranma?" Shampoo asked hesitantly.

"Yes, it's me. Meet my husband Sam, our daughter Anna, and her boyfriend Faerie." The elder stated.

"Moooom!" Was Anna's response while she blushed deeply from embarrassment.

The amazon woman's jaw dropped when Anna spontaneously changed gender. The sight caused one purple haired Chinese woman to flounder for words. Slowly Ranma's words sank in too. He'd called the neko-jin 'boyfriend'. That implied the neko-jin was also under a curse. The fact Ranma called someone else 'husband' was disturbing. As was the martial artist being called 'mom'. There was only one way that could happen. At least, only one way Shampoo could think of it happening.

"Ranma, is your curse locked again?" She asked.

The physically older woman shook her head. "No I ain't locked. Funny story behind it though involving beer, a tuna, and depression. Oh Faerie, try the collar again. I think I know why you were locked."

Faerie snarled even as she pulled a leather pet collar out of a belt pouch. "You have any idea how humiliating this is?"

The fact the elderly man with pale blue hair snorted was interesting. When he spoke it was humorous. "Ranma wears a flea collar, so why the hell are you complaining? Actually, you should get one too."

The elder woman blushed and transformed into an oversized house cat. It was a sight which caused Shampoo to just blink dumbly a few times. The others in the small gathering didn't pay it any mind. Well, most didn't. The old woman Shampoo had learned was Akane Tendo had fainted. The young girl who was Akane's granddaughter on the other hand preformed a glomp which made Shampoo a little jealous. Said glomp also caused the now feline Ranma to tumble to the ground in a heap.

When the neko-jin girl put on the collar she'd pulled out another startling change took place. Magic rippled over the woman. In it's wake was a well muscled man of middle years. He was of average looks with unruly hair that was dark brown in color. His hazel eyes spoke of much pain experienced. Then there was the almost palpable aura of restrained danger. _Berserker,_ Shampoo thought in shock. The man with hazel eyes narrowed them in disgust as he looked Shampoo over.

"You got a problem?" He asked snidely. "Or did you just run out of your favorite shampoo?"

Anna shook his head, crimson tresses swaying from the motion. "What do you have against her?"

Faerie snorted at the question. "Let's see here, she tried killing your mom on the grounds of 'she beat me in a fair fight'. Then she tried to enslave your mom as a breeding mare husband on the grounds of 'he accidentally knocked me out'. That's not including all the attempts at mind control, blackmail, entrapment, and magical slavery. Oh, and the whole 'obstacle is for killing' attitude."

The former amazon lowered her head in shame. In her youth she hadn't been a very nice person. She'd been so convinced in her inherent superiority to all outsiders that Shampoo had viewed them as mere tools, at best. How a complete stranger could know of her acts back then was a minor mystery. Shampoo assumed her would-be husband had told him. But those days had long been put behind. The woman now lived a much more honest and fulfilling life. Not that Shampoo would have thought it so before being arrested sixty years ago.

"Berserker have point," Shampoo said in broken galactic common. "Shampoo bad person long ago. Is too too changed."

Normally her language skills weren't this poor. Years ago she'd gotten over her arrogance and disregard of other languages. But the tension of finally meeting Ranma again after so long had caused her to revert to old habits. This caused the man known as Faerie to raise an eyebrow in amusement. At first his snickering was fairly quiet. Soon it elevated into giggling in a most unmanly fashion. Shortly after that Faerie was laughing loud and heartily at what was said.

"Gods... actually talks like that? Ow... hurts," He managed to get out between guffaws.

He was sent tumbling to the ground after being punched in the back of the head, hard. Faerie stood and glared at the red haired young man who'd struck him. _Swear she keeps forgetting how strong she is,_ he thought in disgust. The rumbling of his stomach caused Faerie to blanch a little. _Gods, how embarrassing. I just ate before that damn battle. Gods how I hate getting disemboweled._ He blinked at his own thoughts. _Still can't get over the fact I actually can develop a hatred of being disemboweled. Stupid fae._

_**XxXxX**_

Shampoo watched from the shadows as strangers two fought each other. The man was muscular, but not overly so. Any fat he'd once retained had long since been turned into smooth muscle. His dark brown hair was unkempt and long. He was using a sword easily as long as he was tall, and holding it as if the blade was a fraction of it's weight. Never before had Shampoo witnessed a sword of that size being used one handed. The man had been called Faerie by the others, a name which puzzled her.

His opponent was a woman with wavy blue hair. Unnaturally blue in fact. Oddly enough, the woman carried neither weapon nor shield. All she'd done was wrap linen around her knuckles and feet to protect them. The woman's name apparently was Anna, and she was the daughter of one Shampoo had once called husband. That Ranma hadn't accepted the claim or the laws which forced it had not mattered in her youth. As such it hurt to see the child of her would-be spouse.

They were a study in contrasts. Faerie was raw power and discipline earned the hard way, with battle and blood. There was no formal training evidenced in his movements. Anna on the other hand was grace and skill personified. There was a brutal efficiency too. Where her Ranma would have used flashy spinning kicks and leaping attacks, Anna favored direct punches and crippling strikes to joints. If she was honest with herself, Shampoo had to admit neither of these two were a people she'd want to face in battle.

It had only been two days since unknown pirates had attacked the earth transport. Two days and still no real answers on who they were or what they were after. Talking with Ranma hadn't panned out either. He, or rather she, had spent all her time with the blue hared man and the Tendo family. Not that Shampoo could resent the Tendos anymore. Not after hearing what had happened all those years ago. It was part of why Shampoo had decided to leave her ship's crew. Nozumi Tendo reminded her too much of younger days.

The sparring match before her finally concluded in what seemed to be a draw. As the massive sword was pulled back Shampoo realized it wasn't a dulled training blade, but the one Faerie probably used in combat regularly. There was blood on it. Anna also had blood covering her knuckles from various blows which had looked rather painful. Surprisingly, Faerie appeared unharmed. Anna had a bleeding cut on her leg which rapidly healed before Shampoo's eyes. The two then started talking in a language Shampoo didn't really understand. Nor was she close enough for the translator to pick it up.

So the former amazonian woman decided to sneak closer to the two. Doing so didn't help though. The translator still couldn't make sense of what was said. The language was kind of musical actually. A blur of motion, and a knife was suddenly embedded in the ground five inches in front of Shampoo. She looked up and blinked in confusion. _Where did he get that crossbow?_ Shampoo thought. _It's as big as he is! At least! Did he just span it by hand? _Indeed the man had managed to cock the weapon casually as if it was a much smaller fifty pound pull hand crossbow.

"I still think you using a siege weapon for general combat is a bit much." Anna commented dryly.

Faerie chuckled. "Ya didn't complain when we fought that black last year. Besides, for me this is the equivalent of a one fifty pound pull. And there's no way in hell I'm letting her get close enough to need my sword. She's been watching us for an hour, and I know her back story. If you fight her Anne, do not win."

Faerie didn't mention that he wasn't entirely sure if he could hit the warrior woman with the crossbow if he had to fire. It was possible though. In the anime he remembered watching Shampoo hadn't had to face any ranged weapons like it. The few times she did encounter ranged attacks in the manga they beat her too. That told Faerie that she probably had little skill at projectile evasion. Even so he'd learned already the folly of underestimating a potential foe. That only brought pain and humiliation, but not always in that order.

**Author Notes:**

Just a quick update. I know I've been getting into the habit of 7 page updates or longer. So a throwback to my old three page update size may feel like being cheated. Sorry about that. This chapter has been harder to write then I expected for some reason. See any spelling errors? Please tell me. Got questions or concerns? I'm more then willing to accept constructive criticism. Spotted an issue which raises too many questions? Let me know and I'll look it over. Might end up spawning a rewrite or new chapter even to clear things up.


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